[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 50 (Friday, April 22, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E745-E746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING THE ONCOLOGY NURSING SOCIETY ON THEIR 30TH ANNIVERSARY

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                         HON. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 21, 2005

  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to oncology 
nurses. Oncology nurses play an important and essential role in 
providing quality cancer care. These nurses are principally involved in 
the administration and monitoring of chemotherapy and the associated 
side-effects patients experience. As anyone ever treated for cancer 
will tell you, oncology nurses are intelligent, well-trained, highly 
skilled, kind-hearted angels who provide quality clinical, psychosocial 
and supportive care to patients and their families. In short, they are 
integral to our nation's cancer care delivery system.

[[Page E746]]

  I congratulate the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) on its 30th 
Anniversary. ONS is the largest organization of oncology health 
professionals in the world, with more than 31,000 registered nurses and 
other health care professionals. Since 1975, ONS has been dedicated to 
excellence in patient care, teaching, research, administration and 
education in the field of oncology. The Society's mission is to promote 
excellence in oncology nursing and quality cancer care. To that end, 
ONS honors and maintains nursing's historical and essential commitment 
to advocate for the public good by providing nurses and healthcare 
professionals with access to the highest quality educational programs, 
cancer-care resources, research opportunities and networks for peer 
support. ONS has two chapters in my home state of Connecticut, which 
help oncology nurses provide high quality cancer care to patients and 
their families in our state.
  Cancer is a complex, multifaceted and chronic disease, and people 
with cancer are best served by a multidisciplinary health care team 
specialized in oncology care, including nurses who are certified in 
that specialty. Each year in the United States, approximately 1.37 
million people are diagnosed with cancer, another 570,000 lose their 
battles with this terrible disease, and more than 8 million Americans 
count themselves among a growing community known as cancer survivors. 
Every day, oncology nurses see the pain and suffering caused by cancer 
and understand the physical, emotional, and financial challenges that 
people with cancer face throughout their diagnosis and treatment.
  Over the last ten years, the setting where treatment for cancer is 
provided has changed dramatically. An estimated 80 percent of all 
cancer patients receive care in community settings, including cancer 
centers, physicians' offices, and hospital outpatient departments. 
Treatment regimens are as complex, if not more so, than regimens given 
in the inpatient setting a few short years ago. Oncology nurses are 
involved in the care of a cancer patient from the beginning through the 
end of treatment, and they are the front-line providers of care by 
administering chemotherapy, managing patient therapies and side-
effects, working with insurance companies to ensure that patients 
receive the appropriate treatment, provide counseling to patients and 
family members, in addition to many other daily acts on behalf of 
cancer patients.
  I appreciate oncology nurses' dedication to our nation's cancer 
patients, and commend the Oncology Nursing Society for all of its 
efforts and leadership over the last 30 years. They have contributed 
immensely to the quality and accessibility of care for all cancer 
patients and their families, and I urge my colleagues to support them 
in their important endeavors.

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